The Penn softball team had yet another forgettable weekend in what has been an increasingly forgettable season.
On a road trip to Ithaca, N.Y., this weekend the Quakers were overpowered by Ivy League South Division-leading Cornell, whose explosive offense proved too much for Penn to handle. The struggling Quakers dropped back-to-back games Saturday, 11-3 and 10-7, and were unable to rebound yesterday, succumbing 4-1 and 14-4.
The coach and players could not be reached for comment.
Cornell junior first baseman Ashley Garvey single-handedly produced enough offense to down the Quakers (9-24-1, 4-8 Ivy), as she registered two runs, three hits and three runs batted in Saturday and followed up yesterday with four hits - including one round-tripper - and six RBI.
But Garvey was not the only Big Red batter that plagued Penn's pitching staff. Junior Elise Menaker led the Big Red (31-7, 10-2) at the plate Saturday with five hits and five RBI and senior Meg Risica added four hits and drove in another four runs. Freshman Cassie Walisiak and junior Alyson Intihar took over yesterday's game, combining for seven hits.
Despite being clearly overmatched throughout the weekend, the Quakers did not go down without a fight. In Saturday's nightcap, they came back from a 10-0 deficit, scoring seven unanswered runs to put the game within reach.
In Penn's 4-1 loss in the first game yesterday, Jesse Lupardus gave up four runs - two earned - and allowed only eight hits in a complete-game outing. But the Quakers could not provide their pitcher with any run support, mustering just one run against Cornell's Elizabeth Dalrymple.
Penn's inability to combine a strong defensive performance with an equally solid performance at the plate has proved to be a familiar theme. Although Lupardus has put up a dominating 1.88 earned run average, she has only a 6-6 record.
The Quakers were unable to take advantage of Lupardus' complete game, but they found offensive success throughout much of the weekend. In the four games, the Quakers registered a combined 15 runs, highlighted by first baseman Meg Krasne's first collegiate home run in the weekend's final game.
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